History

We are an electrical switchgear manufacturer and a strong partner for many industrial customers from different sectors such as transport (railways, vehicles, ships, etc.), conveying systems, lift systems, mechanical engineering, power generation and power distribution.

Our roots

Our company's history began in the era of electricity. Lorenz Naimer and Franz Kraus carried out research in the field of electrical special machines when they decided to start their company in a small cellar in Vienna. By the early thirties, Kraus & Naimer had grown to 50 employees. In 1947, Hubert Laurenz Naimer took over the management of the company from his father Lorenz Naimer. Hubert Laurenz Naimer continued to contribute to the company’s success until his death in 2004. Thanks to his innovations and business initiatives Kraus & Naimer turned into a global corporation.

Expansion

Our world production network has been constantly expanding since 1962. In addition to the first production plant in Vienna, a second facility was built in Karlsruhe (Germany). Four more production sites outside of Austria have been built over the years (Brazil, USA, New Zealand, Hungary).

From 1968 to 1970,  the largest production facility was built in Weikersdorf (Lower Austria). In 1989/1990 a state-of-the-art assembly facility was added; in 2013 the facility was roughly doubled in size.

Technical innovation – a driver for success

Over the decades, Kraus & Naimer has produced countless product innovations and built a global reputation in the field of switchgear. Already in 1948 the company introduced the world’s first cam switch in modular design (model C15). This made it possible to manufacture tailor-made products. Moreover, the smallest cam switch in the world (Model CA4N) is a Kraus & Naimer product. Today, the high production capacity, technical know-how and comprehensive quality assurance are key features of Kraus & Naimer..